Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a step device, and more particularly, to a step device which can be usefully used for a vehicle and is driven by an electric motor.
Description of Related Art
In the related art, a vehicle having a large height, such as a van or a multi-purpose vehicle (SUV, or the like) includes a step device so as for a passenger to easily get on and off.
When the passenger gets on or off the vehicle, the passenger can step on the step device with a foot to help the passenger get on and off.
The step device in the related art includes a fixed type in which the step device is fixedly mounted on a vehicle body and the fixed step device deteriorates an external aesthetic of the vehicle as a scaffold is fixedly installed in the vehicle body to protrude in the width direction of the vehicle and extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from the vehicle body.
In order to solve the problem of the fixed step device, a movable or drawable step device that is received into the vehicle or protrudes to the outside of the vehicle as necessary have been developed.
In general, the movable step device facilitates getting-on/off of the passenger by drawing the scaffold to the outside of the vehicle when needed and improves the external aesthetic of the vehicle by receiving the scaffold into the vehicle when not needed, by using a drive source such as a motor.
The movable step device in the related art includes a guide mechanism including a step housing fixedly mounted on the vehicle body, a scaffold movably installed to be received into the step housing or drawn to the outside of the step housing, an electric motor as the drive source, which moves the scaffold, a rotary roller and a step rail promoting the movement of the scaffold by transferring actuation power of the electric motor to the scaffold, and the like.
However, in the movable step device in the related art, the rotary roller is installed on the step rail in a cantilever form, and as a result, durability is not satisfactory and the step rail is deployed to be separated outside the step housing, and as a result, it is disadvantageous in terms of a layout, and external foreign materials intrude through a separation space between the step housing and the step rail, thereby causing movement disabling or non-smooth movement of the scaffold.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.